siskiou Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 So, we are running into all sorts of things while working on fixing/cleaning up our newly acquired Toyhome, and are hoping to get some advice here, in addition to the yahoogroup. Posting pictures seems easier in a forum. I'm slowly making progress with re-sealing all the seams and windows! There are pounds of caulking and silicone to remove, which takes absolutely forever. Today, we filled up the fresh water tank to test the sensors (2 out of 5 don't work) and discovered a small leak where the hose from the outside connects to the tank. It's too far back to be reached easily, so we'll have to remove the jack-knife sofa. What fun! Any tips how to do this as painlessly as possible? Also, my husband tried to open the fresh water drain valve, which is inconveniently located under the sofa, way in the back, and the valve handle broke right off. The plastic was very brittle. At least, the valve itself didn't snap off! That would have been a real mess! How easy is that to replace and would it be possible to put on an elbow, drill a hole through the fiberglass, and have the valve on the outside of the motorhome? Next, does anyone know what this switch is for? Does it relate to having two coach batteries? And is this inverter any good and can someone explain how to use it properly? I read a pdf user manual, but can only hope that this was installed properly! I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Welcome to the Forums; I also prefer the Forum over the Yahoo group, for the same reasons; ease to create documentation and add photos. However, I try and stay active on both. One of the problems I also experienced, almost everything made of plastic is brittle and suspect to break. Fortunately, most of the stuff used on our Toyhouses is very common and can still be bought today. I don't know what that switch does - its obviously not original equipment, trace a couple wires and see where it goes. the #2 and #3 don't give me any clues, but may mean something to you. Same with the inverter - looks like aftermarket add on, follow the wires and see how its hooked up, then give it a try. One thing you need to keep in mind about the inverter, even when its not turned on, it still draws a small amount of current. If you leave your Toyhouse parked unused for more than a couple weeks, either plug it into shore power (if you have a new style Converter) OR better yet, disconnect the coach battery so it won't get run down. As for the external drain, I goggled "RV Fresh water drain" and came up with about a bazillion of them. I would bet that the drain that was on the inside is the Winterization drain. Mine has two of them one for the cold water pipes and one for the hot water pipes. You may want to sanitize the fresh water tank and lines. Flush the tank out, dump a 1/2 cup bleach in it, then fill with water, turn the pump on and run each faucet and toilet until you can smell bleach. this includes the hot water lines and tank, it may take a few minutes to fill the water heater tank (I bypassed my hot water tank as we don't use it) Let things sit for a couple hours then drain all the lines and tank and re-fill. You can run the water into the black and gray tanks to help sanitize them also. We normally don't use our fresh water for drinking (we use bottled water), but use it for everything else, washing dishes and hands, brush teeth, flush toilet. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Thanks for the tips, John! We'll try to follow the wires to see what the switch might do. Once we have access to the tank, can the sensors be taken out and cleaned, or replaced? Or is that opening up a can of worms regarding leaks? So far, the batteries are doing okay, with us only using a light or two, while fixing things. If we plug it in, how long before the batteries "get cooked"? Does that only happen if you leave it plugged in for months? We'll definitely sanitize the tanks, as soon as we fix that leak! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90toydolphin Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 couch comes out pretty easily. mine had six screws that were reachable with a about a 10" screw driver. took out the front screws with the seat up, then lowered to take out the others. magnetic screw driver would be helpful. the switch on the dash is a mystery to me too. i did test drive one that had a toggle switch on the bottom of the dash in same location but the owner didn't know what it was for. it happened to be a 3 cyc with auto/overdrive. what i bought is a six and doesn't have any switch that is similar. if you have overdrive and the off/on switch isn't at the end of your gear shift that could be a posibility, but just a guess. someone here probably has the exact set up and that will be answered soon. i'm curious. the inverter is sure big enough, 3000 watts. little over kill. unless you have a large bank of batteries hiding somewhere you couldn't use it long at capacity. should be two heavy wires directly from coach battery attached to it for power source. as far as using the ac from it, looks like mine in that you just plug into the front what ever you want to run. if there's more than just the two heavy wires from the coach battery hooked up to it you will need to find out where the others go. if they are ac power out they should be going to ac plugins somewhere. as far as the sensors go, they need to be reset to work right. of course they could just not be working because of the unit itself or the senders in the different tanks. all the pictures i've seen here makes me believe the units on the wall are the same in most of the toys out there. as i remember you are to fill all the tanks, then use a small blade screw driver to adjust the level of the light on the panel to show full. check out the files section on this site for directions. as john said, sanitizing is a good idea. do rinse it out afterwards. some of the hose that was used on some of the homes were recalled because they broke down because of the exposure to chlorine, caused the fittings to give way. as far as the spigit for the water drain, should be easy to find a replacement. not sure why it wasn't located on the outside of the home. i think i would move it to the outside as long as i could do so and keep it at the same low level to insure total drainage. have fun. as someone pointed out once you dig into these toys you find working on them isn't all that difficult unless replacing a wall or ceiling ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 (edited) Thanks! The switch is not the overdrive. That's located at the end of the gear shift. Hopefully, someone will have an idea. We don't have a large bank of batteries, but there are two for the coach. One accessible through an outside door, the other mounted underneath the coach, on the passenger side. The inverter works, though I've only tested it with a cell phone charger (before reading about modified sine waves, but it worked fine with my phone). My sensor panel doesn't have a way to reset anything. There are just the lights and the switches to check the battery (that one works), the fresh water (3 out ot 5 work), Rinse water (all sensors work) and Black (3 out of 5 work). So, from reading it must either be the sensors themselves, or the cables, right? The sensors are the kind that is stuck through the tank wall from the outside of the tank. Not sure if I should attempt to remove and clean the ones in question. Our sofa almost looks easiest to move by unbolting the feet, though I'm not sure if there is enough space to move it out of the way enough. I can't see how to take it apart otherwise. The cushions can't be removed, and I'm afraid if we take the springs off, we'll never be able to put it back together. First, we'll have to empty the fresh water tank, and since the drain valve broke, we'll have to do it by turning on all the faucets and empty the rinse and black tanks. The RV came with a Flojet pump, but we haven't tested it yet. Do you connect the clamps from the pump to the coach battery to run it? The battery weighs a ton, and I couldn't get it out of its compartment to try it out. Either that, or the battery is bolted down. Am continuing with the leak proofing, until Mr. Siskiou can give a hand after work. Edited June 28, 2012 by siskiou Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90toydolphin Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 the sensor sounds like it working. 3 out of five just means 3/5ths full, no lights mean empty etc. you rinse water, ie grey water tank is full, ie 5 of 5. your couch must be totally different than mine. pump should be run by a switch, mine is on the panel for levels, at the top. if the only wires to the pump is just hanging there with clamps, yes connect to the battery, make sure you connect the right cable to right post of the battery. should be marked on the pump, positive or negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Here is a picture of the panel, with me checking the fresh water tank. Some sensor lights are not on, even though the sensors are under water. The same lights work for the grey water tank. And the pump I talked about is not the coach's water pump, but a pump designed to be able to dump your black and grey water into a home sewer. View of the water tank and the broken valve (the little white one way in the back on the bottom), plus a lot of junk that needs cleaning under there. Am I correct that the little white valve is the fresh water drain valve? I didn't see any other kind of valve under there. Have seen a type with a pull-ring mentioned, but I'm not sure our Odyssey has them. And another mystery switch: It's the top most one. No idea what it's for and previous owner didn't know, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90toydolphin Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 on your panel i see the couch water pump is at the bottom. sure you found it ). if the number 2, 3, and F lights never come on i'd say something might be wrong with those lights, maybe not the sensors. i would read what you have showing as fresh water is three fourths full. on mine if that was the case the E, 1, 2 and 3 would be lit, but yours is a little different. but maybe yours only shows the highest and empty. if the water tank has another way to empty you should be able to trace hoses out of the tank to where ever it is. could be a tee connected to one of the lines going to the sink etc. the switch is a 120 V switch. maybe added as a way to turn on the plug next to it? maybe power coming from the inverter not shore power? you could use a power tester to see under what conditions the plug is hot. if you aren't familiar with using one get someone who is, don't want to get shocked or short something out ). i'm with you on the dash switch, very curious here. must turn something on or off ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldwing357 Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 RE: Switch - on several models of '90 era Toy trucks.. there was a dash switch to allow cranking the engine, not necessarily starting it, without having to have the clutch depressed.. The example my 4X4X4 owners booklet suggested was if engine failed on RR crossing, one could put it in gear, crank the starter motor from the outside and thus move the vehicle off the tracks (I found it worked well for very low speed getting over a log or out of the mud !) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 on your panel i see the couch water pump is at the bottom. sure you found it ). Yes, I know how to turn on the water pump! The other pump I mentioned is this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001HKZHIW/ref=asc_df_B001HKZHIW2073776?smid=A3K29OG9312VDN&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B001HKZHIW&hvpos=1o1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17308812411742673461&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt= if the number 2, 3, and F lights never come They *do* come on, for the rinse tank, so I know they work. if the water tank has another way to empty you should be able to trace hoses out of the tank to where ever it is. could be a tee connected to one of the lines going to the sink etc. Will do a thorough investigation today... the switch is a 120 V switch. maybe added as a way to turn on the plug next to it? maybe power coming from the inverter not shore power? you could use a power tester to see under what conditions the plug is hot. if you aren't familiar with using one get someone who is, don't want to get shocked or short something out ). Thanks! I'll be careful! RE: Switch - on several models of '90 era Toy trucks.. there was a dash switch to allow cranking the engine, not necessarily starting it, without having to have the clutch depressed.. Would this be only for a manual transmission? Ours is an automatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtweek1 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I just bought a 86 Odyssey. I thought i might communicate with you about this RV. First I can't find a service manual anywhere! Got any ideas? On the way home from Sacramento, I only average 11 MPG, which seems pretty dang low. I was on Highway 5 most of the trip, but did expereince some hills coming over to Clear Lake. i was going about 60 MPH on the freeway. The RV has only has 19000 miles on it, so the engine should be in top shape. What MPG are you getting? thanks, Elliott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 If no headwinds, if I hold between 55 and 60, I get 14-15 mpg. this can drop off dramatically if strong headwinds or higher speed.. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted September 29, 2012 Author Share Posted September 29, 2012 I only average 11 MPG, which seems pretty dang low. Hi Elliot, sorry for the late reply! For some reason, I didn't get notified that there was a reply on this thread. Your MPG sounds exactly what we were getting on our first drive: 1000 miles on I5. We've kept track, and the best we've got was 14.5 MPG, but mostly it *is* between 11-12. I was hoping for better, too, but I guess the Odyssey is the heaviest of the bunch, and therefore uses more gas. We are planning on a new O2 sensor, to see if that makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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